the end of summer
by orange-tide
Summary: Slightly Vacationed! It's the end of summer and everything is still strange, but soon things are finally coming together. But then, when a irreversible mistake happens, how and who will survive?
1. Back to Familiarity

Anna looked around the familiar room. It was the same house. She had missed this place. Pittsburgh suddenly just wasn't the greatest place to be. Once you've had California, you never go back. Even though Anna tried to go back.  
No one in Newport knew of her re-arrival. She wanted to surprise Seth. Anna missed him a lot. When she boarded the plane, she had already begun to regret it. Every day since then, even with her best friends there to cheer her up, she hadn't been happy. Her best friend, Milana, falling dead to a drug overdose didn't help either. And Anna had been a part of the problem. When Anna left about a year ago, Milana had been lost. She soon hung out with the wrong crowd, finally ending up with two bundles of heroin up her nose. That was one of the reasons Anna left Newport in the first place. Her other friends called her, severely worried about Milana. But by the time Anna had returned, Milana was already gone. Milana had ODed two days earlier. But strangely, it didn't affect her as much as she thought. She had been so enwrapped in Newport, she didn't have that much emotion foe Pittsburgh. And Milana had turned to a ghost there. No one cared about her anymore, except her old close-knit group of friends. Anna had been gone for so long, she had barely recognized Milana at her funeral. She doubted that if she had been the one who died, Milana would have come to her funeral, let alone speak there. Anna gave the ulugy, having known Milana for over 10 years.  
Even though Anna now felt more comfortable in Newport, she still felt like she didn't belong. Like the outcast. But hopefully, that would change. Anna was staying in Newport. That was final.  
  
The end of summer was coming up so fast, Ryan didn't know what to do. The Cohens were his legal guardians. They would force him to come back and live with them. But he couldn't leave Theresa. They were doing pretty good. She seemed a little "out there," but that was fine. She was already a couple months along, so soon they would know who the father was. Ryan half hoped the baby was his, for two reasons. He was already used to Chino, and didn't want to leave. At least that was what he was telling himself. But if the baby wasn't his, he would most likely go back to Newport and live the life that he felt totally far from, like it happened years ago. It had only been three months, but it felt like three decades. Ryan remembered only certain things, and Chino was his home. He did miss Seth and Sandy and Kirsten, but after all he put them through, their hospitality was going to run dry soon. He had only talked to them about two times over the summer, and he hadn't spoken to Seth since he had left. Or Marissa. He didn't really have all that much connection with Newport. After all, Chino was his home. He had grown up there. Screwed up his life there.  
He sighed. Ryan had no clue what to choose. He cared a lot about Theresa and the baby, but yet he still felt like at least a tiny part of the Cohen family. And right then, Theresa walked in the door.  
"Hey." She said, pulling her keys out of the door knob, and closing it. No one could be too careful, even if there was someone home. Ryan had seen way too many robberies. Ryan had been part of some of them.  
"Hey. How was your day?" Ryan asked as they went into the kitchen. He immediately went to the refrigerator. They usually ate right when Theresa came home.  
"Fine. Except Eddie dropped by for a visit." Ryan knew Theresa hadn't spoken to Eddie for a long time.  
"What happened?" He asked as he began to make sandwiches. The stove was broken, and they didn't have the money to pay for a new one, or a microwave. They had to save for the baby.  
"Well, I obviously had to tell him about the baby." She patted her stomach. "And now he wants me to go back."  
"Are you?"  
"No, of course not. You know what might happen if he gets drunk. He might hurt the baby. And he wants me to get a DNA test."  
"So you told him there's a possibility that it's not his?"  
"Yeah. It seemed like the only way I stopped him pressing the matter of me going back to him."  
"Will you get a DNA test?"  
"Well, yeah. After the baby is born. It's too risky now."  
"Right." He finished the sandwiches and put them on plates. Ryan handed one to Theresa, and they sat down. Theresa had already poured some grape kool-aid out and one cup of it was in front of him.  
"I'm just thinking."  
"About?"  
"Maybe I should go to Atlanta. It might be best."  
"Then I'm gong with you."  
"Have you talked to the Cohens?" Theresa said after she wiped her mouth from her first bite.  
"No. Not for a while."  
"Maybe you should. What about school?"  
"I'm just thinking of dropping out." Even though Ryan didn't want to, he knew he would have to.  
"Don't. You have to go to school."  
"No I don't. I'm fine with dropping out. You did."  
"Well, yeah. But you're not me."  
"So it's fine if you drop out but it's horrible for me to do it?"  
"Now come on. Let's not argue."  
"Fine." Ryan angrily took a bite of his sandwich. He missed all the nice take-out the Cohens always ordered. He missed a lot of things. Especially Marissa.  
  
Summer turned off the TV. She was sick of The Valley reruns. Over the summer, she had seen like every one of them about ten times. Because she hadn't really left her house all that much. Occasionally, she'd go on stupid family outings, or go to the mall with Marissa, but that was it. And Marissa wasn't the greatest person to hang out with over the summer. She constantly was complaining, and when she wasn't she was either not talking or totally avoiding anything that had to do with her personal life. Mostly she spoke little and sighed a lot. Around Marissa, Summer didn't have a chance to be unhappy. And she did have a reason for being unhappy. Seth was the answer. He had left her, without a word. They hadn't spoken or seen each other since Marissa's mom's wedding. She had heard from Marissa that he had returned, but Summer didn't care. That was a month ago. She had received about a thousand messages that first week, but then they just stopped. Again, Summer didn't care. Seth had put her through too much and it hurt Summer. But she would have to face Seth sometime., and she feared that moment. She was okay when she didn't have to talk to him or see him, but she would see him every day in the halls. She was afraid that if she saw him, she would forget every bad thing he ever did to her and forgive him. But she couldn't. He caused her too much pain and too many tears.  
She jumped as the phone rang. Summer walked over to it and checked the caller id. It was Marissa.  
"Hello?"  
"Hey Sum."  
"Hey. What's up?"  
"Nothing really. But I was just online talking to Holly, and she said that Sara Tierney is having an end of the summer party. Wanna come?" Summer thought about the idea. It would be her only social interaction with people other than her family and Marissa.  
"I guess." She finally said.  
"Cool. Well, I'll see you later."  
"Bye Coop."  
"Bye."  
  
Sandy stood at the door in contemplation. He could just leave and Ryan would never know he ever came over and everyone could just go one, living their lie of a life. But Sandy was his guardian, and he wanted Ryan to come back. Kirsten did also. She sent him on this quest. So he knocked on the door. He heard footsteps and soon, the door opened. Ryan, luckily, was at the door.  
"Sandy?" Ryan looked confused.  
"Hey Ryan. Mind if I come in?"  
"Uh, yeah. Sure." Ryan moved out of the way and Sandy walked in. The place was small, and he decided to sit on the couch. There also were two armchairs and Ryan sat in one. Theresa soon came out of the kitchen.  
"Hi, Mr. Cohen." She said and sat in the other armchair. Anyone could obviously tell she was pregnant. "What are you doing here?"  
"I wanted to talk about..." Sandy paused. How could he phrase what he wanted to say? "living arrangements." he settled on.  
"What about it?" Theresa inquired.  
"Mostly about Ryan. Me and Kirsten want him to finish school. He's still enrolled in Harbor School, so they'll be expecting him."  
"Well, they shouldn't." Ryan retorted.  
"What do you mean?" Sandy asked.  
"I'm not going back."  
"Theresa, could you excuse us for a moment?"  
"Sure. Ryan, I'll be in the kitchen." Theresa slowly got up and headed to the kitchen.  
"So you're not going back?"Sandy asked after Theresa had left.  
"No. I'm staying with Theresa."  
"Do you even know if this kid is yours?"  
"No."  
"Have you thought about getting a DNA test?"  
"We were just talking about that. It's too risky now. We're gonna wait until after the baby is born."  
"So, what's that? Four, five months? Where you'll help her with things her mother could possibly do?"  
"I caused this."  
"May have. You don't know for sure. She was with Eddie."  
"So what do you want me to do?"  
"I want you to come back and finish school."  
"I can't."  
"Can't or won't? Ryan, do you know what you're giving up here? Everything. You could go to college and get a great job. Here, you'll have to work and never even get your high school diploma."  
"I don't want that kid to live like I did. Even if he isn't mine." Right then, Theresa walked in. Ryan and Sandy looked over. "Theresa."  
"I don't want you fighting about me." She exclaimed.  
"We're not."  
"Yes, you are. I heard all of it. I didn't want to, but I did. And Ryan, I don't want you to give everything up for this baby. Because no matter what, it's going to be mine. And I don't want it to grow up like we did. So I'm thinking I will go to Atlanta."  
"Then I'll go with you."  
"No, Ryan."  
"I don't want this baby to live without a father."  
"Neither do I."  
"When why do you want to go to Atlanta?"  
"Because I want it to have a better life than we did."  
"The baby will. Because we both care for it."  
"Ryan, why are you making this so hard?"  
"Because I care about you."  
"I know you do. But I've screwed up so many lives because of this. Yours, mine, the Cohens, Marissa. And I just wanna get past it. Because if I stay here, I'll never be able to get on with my life and take care of this baby."  
"So what should I do?"  
"I want you to go with Mr. Cohen, and let me take care of the baby." Theresa looked at Ryan for a few more seconds, then headed upstairs.  
"I guess you won." Ryan said.  
"There's no winning or losing." replied Sandy.  
"I'll go start packing." and then Ryan headed upstairs.  
  
Theresa laid on her bed. She had to see if she was still welcome in Atlanta. She was about to call, but Ryan walked in the room.  
"When should I go?" He asked.  
"Well, you don't have a lot of time to get ready for school. So I guess now."  
"If you need me" Ryan started.  
"I don't think I will. But I know you need to go to school. And I know you want to."  
"I guess you got me there."  
"You missed them. The Cohens, I mean."  
"Yeah."  
"I didn't ask you to do this. But you did. And you gave this baby so much love."  
"I already love it."  
" I know. But you should go pack."  
"Okay. But you'll call me the minute you need me, right?"  
"Yeah."  
"And send pictures when the baby's born?"  
"Of course."  
"Or better, I could come like a week ahead and help you."  
"Well, that'll be hard since babies don't usually come right on time." Theresa smiled and they laughed. Ryan then left the room and packed. Theresa called Atlanta and luckily, she could still go. But she didn't have money. She sighed and walked down to say goodbye to Ryan.  
"So?" He said right when she had reached the landing of the stairs.  
"What?"  
"Are you going?"  
"I still need money."  
"I'll pay for it!" Sandy pulled out his wallet.  
"No, Mr..."  
"Nonsense. How much?" Theresa told him how much and he wrote a check to her.  
"So this is goodbye." She said as they headed to the door.  
"Yeah." Ryan commented.  
"I'll miss you."  
"Same here." Ryan gave Theresa a quick kiss on the cheek and Ryan and Sandy left. Theresa watched the car drive away until she couldn't see it anymore. 


	2. Reunions to Remember

Kirsten was in the kitchen when she heard the door open. She walked in and saw Sandy.  
"Look who I brought!" he said and moved out of the way. Behind him stood Ryan. And Kirsten ran up to him and put him into a hug. Amazingly, he returned the embrace.  
"Hi Kirsten."  
"I missed you so much! Sandy said he was going to try to persuade you to come back, not bring you!"  
"Well, I am back. Not to be mean or anything, but where's Seth?"  
"Comic book store. He should be back soon." At least that's what Kirsten hoped. She didn't fully trust him. Not since his little sailing trip.  
"How long ago did he leave?"  
"About a half an hour ago."  
"Oh. Well, I'm just gonna put my stuff away."  
"We kept the pool house the same."  
"Thanks." Ryan left with his two bags.  
"How did you do it?" Kirsten asked Sandy as they walked into the kitchen.  
"I'm magic. I get people to do stuff. They teach you how to do it in law school, I swear."  
"Oh, right." They kissed.  
"See, made you do that."  
"Um-hmm." They heard a car in the garage. Seconds later, the door opened and Seth appeared.  
"Hey son."  
"Hi. Did I ever tell you guys I love when new comics come in?" He jingled a bag.  
"Yes. Every week when the new comics come in." Kirsten replied.  
"Hey, it's the only thing I have right now. Comics and Captain Oats."  
"Oh, check the pool house." sandy and Kirsten kissed again.  
"Could you like save that for any time I'm not in the vicinity?" Sandy gave his son a thumbs up as he continued kissing Kirsten. Seth shuddered and left them. They stopped and Kirsten went to the phone.  
"What are you doing?" Sandy asked.  
"Calling take-out. Like I always do."  
"Let's celebrate and go out. Ryan's here, so we have reason to celebrate."  
"Then I'll call for reservations."  
"Good." Kirsten set up reservations and looked over to the pool house. Only Ryan was in there. Kirsten hadn't noticed that instead of going to the pool house, Seth had went upstairs. Seth worried Kirsten. Seth had been just about missing for two months. He had called, sent postcards, but that was it. It had been the most depressing time of Kirsten's life. Both her boys had been gone. She had cheered up when Seth returned, but Ryan still hadn't been home. But now he was. So she would be much happier. Sandy hadn't told her what happened in Chino, but it must have been difficult, for everyone. With Ryan now staying with the Cohens, she worried about Theresa. What would she do? Theresa had decided to have the baby. But now she was alone. And Kirsten wanted to help. But she already had enough problems to deal with. She just hoped Theresa would make the right decisions and not regret them later.  
  
Ryan finisher unpacking and headed back to the kitchen. Kirsten was there, but Sandy wasn't.  
"Oh, Ryan. Seth's upstairs." Kirsten told him and then he headed up the stairs to Seth's door. He knocked on it and heard a muffled "come in" and entered. Seth was on his bed, headphones on, deeply engrossed in a comic book.  
"Hey." Ryan said, but Seth didn't hear him. Ryan rolled his eyes and tapped Seth on the shoulder. He jumped and took off his headphones. "Hey." Ryan repeated.  
"Ryan. Hey. You're here. What's up? When did you get home?"  
"Like 15 minutes ago."  
"Pool house. Now I get it."  
"What?"  
"Never mind. So you here for good?"  
"Yeah."  
"Awesome! And you know what I heard while eavesdropping on the even more dorkier people at the comic book store? There's a party. We should go."  
"How did they hear about it?"  
"Ya know, I think the one guy is like stalking some girl. I don't know."  
"Right. So what did you do all summer?"  
"Well, I tried to get to Tahiti , but that didn't work. So I pretty much sailed around for two months."  
"Wow."  
"Yeah. I left right after you did."  
"Oh."  
"Yeah, I had some 'me' time. Pretty depressing most of the summer, actually. But I am so happy school is starting."  
"Why?"  
"I'll have to see people. Like Summer."  
"Haven't talked to her?"  
"No. Not since Marissa became my step-aunt-in-law person thing. I don't know what relation we are to each other."  
"I think it's step-aunt."  
"Probably. Weddings confuse me. I just know you gain family."  
"Right."  
"So how was your summer?"  
"Other than working and helping Theresa, nothing happened."  
"Wow, that's exciting. So do you, like, have a job now?"  
"Fired a couple days ago."  
Okay. That's cool, man."  
"Yeah."  
"So. How's Theresa? Still pregnant?"  
"Yeah. But she decided to go to Atlanta now."  
"Oh, so the kid isn't yours?"  
"Don't know. But I wish she would have stayed." Ryan leaned on the wall. He didn't realize how much he had missed the Cohens.  
"Right. So, how about that party?"  
"What about it?"  
"Ya wanna go?"  
"Sure."  
"Great. The return of Cohen-wood."  
"Cohen-wood?"  
"Sure. I thought we could have this neat scary name that people would fear." Ryan glared at Seth. "Or not."  
"Right."  
"Hey, I'm telling you, with my sarcasm and your... punching abilities, we could overtake the school. Luke's not there, so there's an opening for school ruling."  
"Thought hard about this?"  
"Well, it gets lonely on a boat. I had to plan for if you were coming back or not."  
"What was the plan for me not coming back?"  
"Depression. But you know that's not gonna happen. Cause you're back and that's good." Seth smiled and Ryan actually smiled back.  
  
Anna rang the doorbell. It was about eight, and she would have been there sooner, but she had to unpack. But she made it to the Cohens. The lights were on, but they weren't answering. She was about to let Seth see her on the first day of school when the door opened.  
"Anna?" Seth asked, obviously bewildered. She turned around and looked at him. He hadn't changed.  
"Hey."  
"Wow. Uh, come in."  
"Thanks."  
"This is a good day."  
"What do you mean?"  
"Well, you're here and Ryan's back..."  
"Where was he?"  
"Oh, right. You weren't here. Let me fill you in. Ryan and Theresa. Theresa pregnant. Ryan, Chino. Me, boat. Um, me, back. Ryan, back. I think that's it. Oh, add some strippers and a wedding in there."  
"Right."  
"Cliff notes."  
"Obviously very short cliff notes."  
"You don't want to know the details. Heck, I don't want to know the details. There's way too many."  
"Okay."  
"So what are you doing here?"  
"I moved back."  
"Cool. Hey, you should come to the party too."  
"What party?"  
"One that's tomorrow." anna thought. She wasn't the hugest party goer. But every now and then she did enjoy one.  
"All right."  
"Neat. So, what made you move back?"  
"Pittsburgh changed. A lot. And it didn't seem right anymore."  
"Ah, I see."  
"Yeah. But now I'm here. Hopefully for good."  
"That's good. I missed you."  
"Glad to know I was missed."  
"Did you miss me?"  
"Of course."  
"That makes me feel better. And you can help me and Ry take over the school."  
"Take over the school?"  
"Sure. We could try."  
"Cohen, you haven't changed at all."  
"Well, I had thought I did. But hey, whatever." Anna smiled. She really cared about Seth. She kept denying she liked him, but she couldn't. He was so great. He understood Anna. No one else did.  
"So how are you and Summer?" Anna didn't want to ask, but she had to know.  
"Well, we haven't spoken for a while. I don't know if we're together."  
"Oh."  
"Why?"  
"I just wanted to know." Anna looked at her watch. "Oh, crud. I have to go." She got up to leave.  
"All right. I'll see you tomorrow. Is your phone number still the same?"  
"Yep. Talk to you later." She began to leave.  
"Anna, wait." Seth called back. She turned back around.  
"Yeah?" Seth walked up to her.  
"Can we maybe like try again? I really missed you."  
"I don't know, Cohen. We didn't work before and..."  
"But I was still deeply in love with Summer."  
"Aren't you still?"  
"I like her, but she probably hates me. She hasn't talked to me in forever."  
"I still don't..." Anna couldn't finish her sentence. Seth kissed her. Anna smiled at Seth.  
"What do you say?"  
"All right. But I still have to leave."  
"I know."  
"Bye."  
"Bye." Anna left the house. The air outside was warm. Very warm. Nothing like Pittsburgh. Where the warmest it might get was 79. Sometimes it might get hotter, but not a lot.  
Anna headed to her car. It was dark and you could see every star in the sky. Her thoughts drifted from Seth to Milana. Anna had this heavy load of guilt and was ready to get rid of it. Now that she was in Newport, and Seth was there, she was hoped the party would do just that.  
  
Summer looked back at herself in the mirror. She was just about ready. Even though no one would care what she was wearing, as long as there wasn't much of it, she still wanted to look her best. She was ready to forget about Seth. He was old news. No more. Summer hated him. He didn't deserve Summer.  
The doorbell rang. That was Marissa. Summer applied a fresh coat of lip gloss and rushed downstairs. Marissa was by the door, along with Summer's father.  
"Hey Coop." Marissa hugged Summer. She actually seemed to be in a good mood.  
"Hey. So, who's car do you want to take? Mine or yours?"  
"I don't care."  
"Mine it is." They began to leave.  
"Bye Dad." Summer said to her father.  
"Don't get into too much trouble. I don't want a call from the police."  
"We won't." He waved goodbye and they shut the door. Marissa unlocked the car and Summer sat in the passenger seat. The car ride was mostly silent, save the light noise from the radio.  
Sara Tierney's house wasn't that far form Summer's house. It only took about ten minutes to get there, and the party was already in full swing by the time they arrived. The place was trashed and the scent of beer was intoxicating. Summer and Marissa slowly made their way through, hoping not to trip over someone already passed out.  
Marissa was the first to see the beer and she tugged on Summer's arm, urging her to follow. Summer followed, tripping on anything because Marissa was pulling so hard Summer didn't have time to look down. But they made it to the beer in record time. And then, Summer saw him.  
Seth was sitting on a couch, talking to Ryan and Anna. Summer had to do a double take just to make sure it was Anna. Hadn't she moved away? All three had a beer in their hand, and soon Seth and Anna kissed. This extremely irked Summer. The two left the couch, leaving Ryan lost in thought. Summer grabbed a beer, and they both chugged theirs down, but for different reasons. They grabbed another, walking aimlessly into the sea of drunks.  
  
Ryan sipped his beer carefully. Strangely, he was still on his first. He had a reputation for being a partier. Ryan had only arrived not long ago, with Seth and Anna. He hadn't seen Anna in a long time, or anyone in Newport for that matter. Seth was almost done with his first beer, and Anna had barely drunken any of hers. The two made a good couple. Ryan had learned That they were back together right when Anna had come over. They liked a lot of the same things, so they worked perfectly. Except Seth might still be deeply in love with Summer. He doubted this now, but you never knew. It could have changed over the last three months. Seth had said he wasn't in Newport for most of the summer. So he didn't know.  
He checked his watch. It was already past two. How had it gotten so late so fast? Ryan looked around. Seth and Anna weren't anywhere. He walked around, looking for them. But before he could look for them, he saw Marissa. She was more beautiful than before. Or That could be the beer talking. He slowly approached her, taking one last swig of beer before he spoke to her. She was turned away from him, so he tapped her shoulder.  
"Hey." Ryan said, hoping not to sound drunk. She turned around.  
"Ryan. What are you doing here?" She looked confused.  
"I just came back."  
"What about Theresa?"  
"Uh, she's going back to Atlanta."  
"Oh."  
"So how was your summer?"  
"Fine." The conversation wasn't going as well as he envisioned it in his head all summer.  
"Well, that's good. Mine want that exciting either."  
"Oh. Well, it was good seeing you."  
"Yeh."  
"I missed you."  
"Same here." Marissa walked away, chugging down what Ryan thought was her first beer. Ryan took a sip of his, and went in search of Seth and Anna. He headed outside first, to get some fresh air. Luckily, Seth and Anna were out there. Seth was talking to Summer, who looked peeved and bored at the same time. Anna stood next to Seth, who also looked a little peeved. Ryan walked up to them.  
"Ryan, my man! What is up?" Seth exclaimed.  
"Seth, how much beer did you lave?"  
"Only like three. Or four."  
"You're not driving."  
"Fine with me."  
"So, Chino, how are you?" Summer asked Ryan.  
"Fine."  
"Good. Talk to Coop?"  
"Yeah, I did." Summer looked around. People were already leaving.  
"What the hell? The party's already over?" At that moment, Marissa walked up to them.  
"Sum, we should go."  
"All right." she turned to Seth, Ryan, and Anna. "Do you guys need a ride?" Ryan and Seth looked to each other.  
"We can just leave the car and get it tomorrow. I really don't feel right driving."  
"Cool with me. Let's go." Everyone followed Marissa to her car. She took the driver's seat, and Summer took the passenger seat. The others pilled into the back, Ryan sitting uncomfortably in the middle.  
It was a slightly open road, with cars around. Marissa began to pull out, denying to herself she was drunk. 


	3. Red Isn't Green

Anna pressed her head on the window. She hadn't drinker all that much, but she still felt the buzz. Her eyes began to droop, but she still could see the intersection approaching fast. The light was green, but they were pretty far away. The car began to move side to side a bit. Anna looked at the speedometer. It was at about 94 mph. No one else noticed, for they had had too much alcohol. The light was now yellow, and Marissa wasn't slowing down. Anna held her breath and waited for what would happen next. Marissa hadn't turned on her lights. The car started through the intersection, but they didn't make it. A car came from the right, slamming their car into another coming from the left. The car swerved viciously and they tilted to one side. Anna saw Marissa's head crash into the windshield, and then Anna's own head slammed into the widow. She took one last look around before she fell into unconsciousness.  
  
Ryan was the only one awake. He had no way of getting out. Blood and glass was everywhere. The world had silences, and all Ryan could hear was his heartbeat. But that was faint, off in the distance. All the windows had either broken or were about to, and he was pinned to his seat. His seatbelt clip was under Anna. He tried not to look at his friends, but there was nowhere else to look. Marissa was draped over the steering wheel, Anna had smashed her head through the window. He couldn't see Summer. And he couldn't look at Seth.  
Suddenly, sharp pains shot through him. His body had only numbed th pain for a short time. Now he couldn't move indefinitely. His whole body was in pain. But luckily, he saw lights. And it wasn't the White Light. The ambulance had arrived. He could hear the sirens. Ryan was dizzy. Just because he was awake, that didn't mean he wasn't in pain. The lights were blinding. He couldn't move his arms to cover his eyes. A paramedic opened the door and saw Ryan was still conscious.  
"Are you okay?" the paramedic asked.  
"Not really." He croaked. His voice was soft, barely audible. The paramedics took Seth out of the car. And soon, paramedics were at every door. Once Anna was taken out of the car, Ryan was able to unbuckle his seatbelt. He eased himself out, but when he tried to stand, his legs couldn't hold him. His whole body was still in shock. He fell back into the car and caught the door frame so he could stay up. A paramedic helped him to the stretcher.  
"Get on." The paramedic ordered.  
"No."  
"Look, we don't know how serious your injuries are. And you're bleeding, now get on." Ryan was too exhausted to object. The paramedics helped him on the stretcher. They began to put him in the ambulance. Ryan could see Marissa. There was blood on her face and it was coming from a spot on her forehead. Ryan was put in the ambulance, and they shut the doors, and began their trip to Newport Beach General.  
  
Kirsten was worried. It was two in the morning, and Ryan and Seth hadn't come home. Anna hadn't even come by to pick up her car. Kirsten was pacing around in the kitchen when Sandy came in.  
"Still up?" He asked as he yawned, rubbing his eyes.  
"Yes. Ryan and Seth haven't come home."  
"School's starting soon, they need to unwind. They're fine."  
"They never stay out this late."  
"Trust them. They'll be home soon." At that moment, the phone rang. Kirsten jumped and picked it up.  
"Hello?"  
"Is this the Cohen residence?" The woman on the other side of the line said.  
"Yes. How can I help you?"  
"I'm calling from Newport Beach General. This in regards of your son, Seth Cohen and your adopted son, Ryan Atwood."  
"What's wrong?"  
"They've been in an accident." The words sliced through the air.  
"Are they okay?"  
"I don't know at the time."  
"We'll be right there. Thank you."  
"Goodbye." Kirsten hung up. She stared at Sandy in disbelief. Tears were already welling up behind her eyes.  
"What's wrong?" He asked.  
"That was the hospital. Ryan and Seth were in an accident." Kirsten watched Sandy as all the color drained from his face. He said nothing, but grabbed his car keys and headed to the garage. Kirsten followed him, wiping her eyes as she went. "Anna must have been in the car with them too."  
"I don't really care about her right now. I'm more worried about Seth and Ryan."  
"Well, I am too. But that doesn't mean I don't care about her." Sandy opened his mouth to say something, but quickly closed it. The rest of the ride to the hospital, both said nothing. Sandy was focused on the road, and Kirsten stared out the window. Her two sons were in the hospital. More tears stained her face as they pulled into the hospital.  
Kirsten jumped out of the car as soon as Sandy put on the emergency brake. She slammed the door shut and ran into the hospital. Sandy trailed behind her, not letting everything sit in. Kirsten ran to the nurses' station.  
"Seth Cohen, Ryan Atwood, where are they?"  
"I'll check." The nurse turned to the computer and looked up the names. "Are you related to them?"  
"Yes, yes. We're the parents." Kirsten answered.  
"Of both?"  
"Yes, of course."  
"Sorry, procedure. Okay, Ryan's in 118, and I can't seem to find a room for Seth."  
"Why? Why can't you find one?"  
"He might still be getting checked over. Don't worry."  
"Right. Thank you." Kirsten turned to Sandy. "118." she looked into Sandy's eyes and saw the same fear that was in hers. She then rushed down a hall in search of room 118.  
After asking two nurses where 118 was, Kirsten and Sandy finally found it. Ryan lay on a bed in there, and a doctor was also there. Ryan was awake, looking more pissed than he ever was.  
"Ryan." Kirsten screamed. She ran to him and pulled him into a hug. He stiffened.  
"Please. Don't." Ryan finally said. Kirsten stopped hugging him. Ryan began to rub his chest.  
"Why?" The doctor approached.  
"Let me explain." The doctor started. "I'm Doctor Macklavoy."  
"Kirsten Cohen." She shook hands with the doctor.  
"I'm Sandy Cohen." Sandy then shook hands with the doctor.  
"You're his legal guardians, correct?"  
"Yes."  
"Well, Ryan is pretty unscathed. He does have a bruised rib, so that would be why."  
"Oh gosh. I'm so sorry Ryan." Kirsten apologized.  
"It's fine." He forgave.  
"Anyways, since he doesn't have very serious injuries, he can go home."  
"That's great. Doctor, do you know anything about my other son, Seth Cohen?"  
"No, sorry I don't. I'm not his doctor. I'll leave you alone. I'll be back in a bit." The doctor left.  
"All right, who was driving? You or Seth?" Kirsten interrogated.  
"Neither." Ryan answered.  
"Huh?"  
"We weren't the only ones in the car."  
"Who else was?" Sandy took over the questioning.  
"Marissa, Summer and Anna."  
"Then who was driving?"  
"Marissa."  
"Was she drunk?"  
"I had seen her drinking."  
"How did she get in the accident?"  
"What are you, the police?"  
"I just want to know."  
"Well, I just got out of it and I really don't feel like reliving it now."  
"Sorry." The doctor reentered.  
"I have the papers for you, Mr. Cohen." Dr. Macklavoy handed some papers to Sandy.  
"Oh, I have a question." Ryan interjected.  
"What is it?"  
"How are the others? Ya know, Marissa, Summer, Anna?"  
"You're my first patient for the night. I don't know about anyone else. The other doctors will probably know." Sandy finished signing the papers.  
"You're free." He said to Ryan.  
"Thanks." Ryan said back.  
"Can you check for my other son, Seth?" Kirsten asked.  
"Of course. I'll go do that." The doctor exited again. Kirsten fell into a chair and let her tears fall. She was happy, yet scared. Happy that Ryan was okay, scared that she didn't know how Seth was. Sandy put his hand on her shoulder. The doctor reentered before she could shed any more tears. "Seth was just put into a room."  
"So he's not dead?" Kirsten asked through tears.  
"No, he's not dead. He's right down this hall, in 125."  
"Thank you so much."  
"Anytime."  
"So I can go?" Ryan asked.  
"Yes." Kirsten, Sandy, and Ryan left. Kirsten was calming down now. They found room 125, where Seth was lying peacefully on a bed. Kirsten at first thought he was dead, but when she saw him breathe, all those thoughts left her mind. She sat down by her son, and another doctor came in.  
"Ah, you must be the Cohens. I'm Doctor Boorem."  
"I'm Sandy Cohen." He shook hands with the doctor.  
"How is he?" Kirsten asked.  
"Well, he did break his arm in three places, so he'll have that cast for a while. And he did get twelve stitches on his head..."  
"Oh God."  
"He'll be fine. He also has a cracked rib. And I'd like to keep him overnight, just in case."  
"Just in case of what?"  
"Precautionary. Don't worry." She reassured Kirsten.  
"Doctor, do you know how any of the others are?" Ryan attempted.  
"Well, I'm Marissa's doctor and she also had to get stitches. I believe Summer, is that her name?"  
"Yes."  
"She also had some stitches. I don't know what else happened to her."  
"What about Anna Stern?"  
"She is in ICU."  
"Why is she in ICU?"  
"Well, I shouldn't be telling you this, but she does have severe head trauma. It's pretty much up in the air whether she'll survive or not. Even if she does, she'll have long term mental disabilities."  
"Oh my God." Ryan was speechless. The doctor's beeper went off.  
"Oh, I have to go. I'll leave you alone with Seth.' The doctor left an Kirsten thought about Anna. ICU. Anna might not make it. Kirsten knew Seth was close to Anna. How would he react now that Kirsten knew he was okay?  
"Should we go home?" Sandy asked after a slightly unbearable, awkward silence.  
"I'll stay here. You take Ryan home." Kirsten offered.  
"Are you sure?"  
"Yeah."  
"Okay then." Sandy kissed Kirsten on the cheek. "Take care of him." he motioned to Seth.  
"I will."  
"Bye."  
"Bye Kirsten." Ryan said.  
"Bye." And with that, Ryan and Sandy left Kirsten to some new found tears.  
  
"I'm sorry Sandy." Ryan finally said after a third of the drive in silence.  
"Why?"  
"Because of what happened."  
"You weren't the one driving."  
"I know, but I should have stopped Marissa." Sandy glanced over at Ryan. There was a look of guilt upon his face, and that was the only emotion on his face. He showed no fear just hours after an accident that landed one of his friends in ICU.  
"You can't always be responsible one. Marissa is not your responsibility. Just you."  
"But I still didn't stop anyone from going into that car."  
"Ryan, it's not your fault."  
"It fells like it is." Sandy wanted to say something, but he couldn't think of the right words. He had no idea what Ryan felt. He wished he could help Ryan, but for once, he had nothing to day. No words of wisdom. He just prayed everyone would get through this. 


	4. Already Gone

Kirsten sat by her sleeping son. She refused to fall asleep, but every once in a while, her eyes would began to droop. Her eyes were just about closed when she heard a knock at the door. Kirsten stirred awake and found a woman standing at the door.  
"Hi." The woman said and Kirsten got up to greet her.  
"Hi." Kirsten had no clue who the woman was, but it didn't quite matter.  
"You probably don't know me. I'm Anna's mother, Melissa."  
"Nice to meet you. I'm Kirsten, Seth's mom."  
"So how is Seth?"  
"He broke his arm and got some stitches and hurt one of his ribs."  
"Yikes."  
"Yeah. How's Anna?" Immediately Kirsten saw tears form in Melissa's eyes.  
"That's why I'm here." Kirsten pulled chairs over and they sat down.  
"What's wrong?"  
"About a half an hour ago, her heart. It just stopped. And they just kept trying, but it no use." Tears billowed from Melissa's eyes. Kirsten was still in shock from the blow. Anna had died. Melissa fell on to her for support. Kirsten began to cry. "It was horrible. They couldn't save her. They tried their hardest, and they still couldn't."  
  
Marissa woke up in a daze. She was lost. She couldn't remember anything that had happened. Her head throbbed. She tried to move, but her body screamed in pain. Nothing seemed right.  
"Hey kiddo." Marissa's dad appeared next to her. "How ya feeling?" he asked, stroking her hair. Every time he hit a certain spot, her pain increased, but she refused to tell him that.  
"Where am I?" Marissa asked, still confused.  
"You're in the hospital. There was an accident." All her memories came back and now everything was clear. Marissa had been driving home when there was a red light. She didn't stop and she hit something. But that was where her memories stopped.  
"How is everyone?" She feared the worst.  
"Well, Hailey told me that Ryan's already out of the hospital." Marissa breathed a sigh of relief. "And Seth should be leaving today. I didn't hear anything about Summer though. But when I talked to Kirsten this morning, she said..." Jimmy stopped. He turned away form Marissa and she could tell something was wrong.  
"What? What did she say?"  
"That last night, or rather this morning..."  
"Dad."  
"Sorry. But she said that Anna. She died." Marissa was speechless. Everything seemed distant. All happiness had disappeared from Marissa. The accident had killed Anna. The one where Marissa had been driving. When she was drunk.  
As much as she hated it, in her heart, she knew she was the one who killed Anna Stern.  
  
Summer stared at her father in shock. He had just told her something she did not want to hear.  
"Anna is dead?" She finally asked after the thought started to set in.  
"Yes."  
"You're lying. Don't joke with me, Daddy."  
"I'm not."  
"Well, can't you be?"  
"I'm sorry."  
"For what? I'm not the one who's dead." Summer didn't know why, but she began to cry. She had never been super close with Anna. All Anna did to Summer was piss her off. But she felt bad. Maybe if she hadn't asked Ryan and Seth if they needed a ride, Anna would be alive.  
"Honey? Are you gonna be okay?"  
"Yeah. I'll be fine." Summer dried her eyes.  
"Are you sure?" Summer looked at her father. He looked deeply concerned.  
"Daddy, I'll be fine." She felt like a little girl. Like she couldn't cope by herself. But she could. Or hoped she could.  
"It's fine if you aren't. That's perfectly normal." Her dad tried his hardest to help.  
"I'm fine, Dad."  
"Okay. Well, I talked to your doctor. He said I could take you home."  
"Good. I'm so sick of this place."  
"Well, I'll sign you out and you go get changed." Her father produced a bag of clothes. Summer personally wouldn't have matched those jeans with that shirt, but she knew her father was trying. She didn't expect him to be up to date with fashion. Her father left the room and Summer slid herself off the bed. She grabbed the clothes and went to the bathroom. She soon discovered there was a scar on her leg. It wasn't that big, and it couldn't be noticed that much. But it killed any chance of Summer being a leg model. She changed and prepared to leave. But not before she saw herself in the mirror.  
The person she saw didn't seem right. There was a scar under the eye. The eye was black and blue. Summer gently touched the place where the scar was in the mirror on her face. She could feel it. She shut her eyes and tears trickled down her bruised face. Sure, makeup could cover it up, but it would never fully take it away. It would be there forever. Always to remind her of what happened. She felt battered, abused. Not like herself. The accident stole the life she once had. She knew that. Everything was so different now. Someone was dead. Someone wasn't coming back to Newport.  
Summer worried about Marissa. She had been driving. What would happen to her? Would she be sent to rehab? Or something worse? Would they blame her for Anna's death? More tears cascaded down her face.  
"Summer? Are you all right?" Summer looked up. Her father was at the door. She hated knowing her father saw her cry.  
"Yeah. I'm fine." She began to wipe her tears away when she touched the scar. Tears welled up behind her eyes, but she forced them not to fall. Summer followed her father out of the hospital room. They went down the hall, and Summer looked for Seth, but she couldn't find him. Maybe he had already left.  
She followed her father into the elevator where there was barely enough room to breathe. They eventually exited and someone brushed with her. Pains shot up and down her leg, but she didn't show any signs of weakness. But Summer recognized the woman. It was Julie Nichol, previously Julie Cooper. She was headed to the gift shop. Summer wanted to say hi, but Julie didn't seem to be in a good mood. So Summer continued following her father, like a lost dog.  
  
Kirsten had called Sandy the night earlier. She had told them about Anna, and Sandy told Ryan. It made Ryan feel worse, but he knew he would have to deal.  
He was sitting in Seth's room with Kirsten and, of course, Seth. Sandy was off somewhere, claiming he needed to find a vending machine. Kirsten told Ryan he usually went off to find one so he could kick the crap out it because he was upset. Ryan had laughed at what Kirsten had said, one of the only laughs he had for a while.  
Seth was still asleep, and Kirsten was staring out the window. Ryan hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, and he was beginning to dose off in the hospital room. He was just about asleep when he heard a voice.  
"Mom? Ryan?" Seth asked, finally awake form his deep sleep. Both Kirsten and Ryan looked to him.  
"Oh Seth! Thank God you're okay!" Kirsten exclaimed and began to hug her son. He tensed a tiny bit in pain, and Ryan couldn't help but laugh thinking about how Kirsten had done the same thing to him a day earlier. Somehow Ryan was in a much better mood today even though someone he knew was gone.  
"Oh Mom? Ow. That hurts."  
"Sorry. I forgot about your rib thing." She said as she let go of him.  
"Right. Um, question: Where am I?"  
"Hospital."  
"And why am I in the hospital?"  
"Accident."  
"Why are you answering in one worded sentences?"  
"Seth."  
"See, you did it again. But how is everyone else and when can I leave?"  
"Hopefully today you can leave. Ryan is fine, as you can see. But I don't know about Marissa and Summer." Kirsten looked away form Seth. Both her and Ryan knew what was coming.  
"What about Anna?"  
"Seth, Anna..." Kirsten faltered. "Seth. An..." Kirsten couldn't say it.  
"Seth, Anna didn't make it." Ryan finally said.  
"What do you mean? Didn't, didn't make it to this hospital and she's at another one? Or didn't make it in to see me? Cause I really don't mind if she didn't..." Seth rambled.  
"No Seth. Anna's dead." Those words were the hardest words Ryan ever had to speak. Seth stared down lost in thought. He seemed confused, yet he knew exactly what was going on.  
Sandy walked in at that precise moment, limping a tiny bit, not knowing what had transpired.  
"Damn vending machine..." He lifted his head and saw Seth was awake. "Oh Seth! You're up! That's great!" Sandy smiled and walked close to his son's bed. Seth looked up at him, pain in his eyes.  
"Is it true?" He asked, not wanting to believe what Ryan had said.  
"I'm sorry son." Sandy understood what Seth was talking about. Seth looked down again. "Seth, are you gonna be okay?" Seth looked back up.  
"What? Oh yeah, I'll be fine. Just because my girlfriend is dead, ya know, I'm still peachy keen."  
"Seth..."  
"Can we just go? I'm really ready to." Ryan knew Seth was trying to get his mind off the accident.  
"Okay. I'll go sign you out." Sandy limped out of the room and Kirsten followed, but whispering to Ryan.  
"I told you so about the vending machine."  
"Hey, I gotta changed." Seth announced.  
"Right, I'll go." Ryan got up and left the room. He felt horrible. He had no clue what Seth was going through. Anna had just come back. And now she was already gone.  
  
Kirsten and Sandy sat at the kitchen table later that night. Both boys were in their room, forever, if Kirsten had anything to say about it. She was supposed to be happy. Both her sons were home, but in reality, she felt terrible. She wanted to help Seth, but she didn't know how. He was in so much pain, and there was no way of Kirsten taking it away. That was the mother's job. Make her children feel better when they fell off their bike. Kiss the boo-boo and make the child smile. But this time, she didn't know how.  
"I'm worried." Sandy finally said after a long silence.  
"I know, but Seth..."  
"Not about Seth."  
"Then who?"  
"Marissa."  
"She'll be fine."  
"No, she won't. She was driving that car drunk. She was responsible. And her carelessness killed someone." Kirsten hadn't even thought about that.  
"What will happen to her?"  
"She could go to jail."  
"But she's a minor."  
"That doesn't matter. More and more minors are being tried as adults. Most likely, she'll be too."  
"What if you're her lawyer?"  
"I still may not win."  
"Well, try. Please."  
"I will. But I still can't guarantee anything." Sandy left the room to sleep. As he walked up the stairs, the phone rang.  
"Hello?" Kirsten said upon answering it.  
"Hi Kirsten. This is Melissa."  
"Oh hi. How are you doing?"  
"They're burying her in two days." Kirsten could hear Melissa crying. "Two days. She died yesterday, and they already want to put her in the ground."  
"They usually bury people soon after."  
"I know! But I never thought I'd be planning a funeral for my daughter!"  
"It's horrible, I know. But you can get through this."  
"I hope I can. And I hope that Marissa Cooper is put away for a long time."  
"Marissa didn't purposely kill Anna."  
"She murdered my baby! She should pay!"  
"Calm down. I'll talk to you tomorrow."  
"I guess."  
"Bye."  
"Kirsten, wait."  
"What?"  
"Make sure you say good night to your sons. It could be the last time you do."  
"I will."  
"Good night."  
"Night." Kirsten hung up. She hadn't thought of the funeral. But it was in two days. She first went to the pool house, then Seth's room to do what Melissa suggested. 


	5. Beautifully Tragic

Two days had passed and it was the day of the funeral. Seth stayed in his room a lot, as did Ryan. Marissa wasn't even allowed near the funeral.

A lot of people not from Newport were there. Most Seth had never seen. He did see Mrs. Stern, and she approached him.

"Hi, Seth." She greeted him as she wiped tears away from her eyes. She never ceased to stop crying now.

"Hi, Mrs. Stern. I'm really sorry about what happened." Seth apologized. He never thought he would be here. It was so surreal.

"It wasn't your fault. Here, I'd like you to meet my other daughter, Liz." Next to Melissa, was a girl, about 13 in age. Her hair was blonde, like Anna's, only it was long. Her face was sullen, like a smile hadn't formed on it in ages. She seemed lost in her own thoughts, her body at the funeral, her mind somewhere else.

"Hi Liz. I'm Seth." Seth introduced himself. Liz looked up at Seth, and he saw the striking resemblance Liz had with her sister.

"I heard." She didn't say much, not being in Newport a whole lot. She had been the first to move, Anna never mentioned her.

"I'm really sorry about your sister. She was a great person." Seth tried to talk to Liz, as Melissa soon disappeared into the crowd of Pennsylvanians.

"Yes, she _was._" Liz paused. "You know the girl who did it?" Liz stared into Seth's eyes, barely blinking.

"Who?" Seth knew who Liz was talking about, he just didn't want to discuss it.

"The girl who killed my sister. The girl who drove drunk and destroyed my family. The girl who made me lose the only person who knew me." In fact, Liz had been Anna's best friend, but it had all changed when Newport came. Anna had more friends, and Liz fell into the background of Anna's life.

"Oh. Marissa." Seth felt horrible, this girl really had a way of pouring on the guilt.

"Marissa. Cute name. Not really the name for a murderer."

"She didn't murder Anna. It was an accident. It was no one's fault." Seth tried to defend Marissa, but really it had been her fault. Who else's? Only Marissa's.

"She was drinking drunk. She ran through the red light. She killed my sister." Liz never met Marissa, but she already despised her.

"I'm sorry." Seth felt really bad for this girl, who he had only met a few minutes ago.

"Why are you covering for her? She's responsible. She should take the blame. And you know what? Your little friend, Marissa, is gonna meet with my parents. She'll have her stupid parents and some attorney, Cohen or something..."

"Sandy." Seth answered.

"Yeh. But they're gonna meet, and then, Marissa's parents and Sandy Cohen will lose and Marissa will sent to prison for the rest of her goddamn fucking life." Liz was about to cry.

"She wouldn't go to prison." Seth had nothing else to say.

"Then juvie. But you wanna know something, Seth? You're the reason she was here. And she always talked about you. She loved you. She came back for you. And now? That fucking bitch killed her. If you'll excuse me, I need to go sulk somewhere." Liz left, with Melissa reentering at that second.

"She's emotionally disturbed." Melissa tried to lighten the mood a bit, but it was really no use. It was a funeral, who could be happy?

"I noticed." Seth wanted someone to talk to. Maybe Ryan. He couldn't talk to Summer. He hadn't seen her since that night.

"Listen, Seth. We've all been going through a rough spot. And at first, I wanted to move right back to Pittsburgh, but I can't keep moving my family around. But we're emptying Anna's room this weekend. Sending most of it to the Salvation Army. But, I wanted you, and maybe some of her other friends here to maybe go in, you can have anything. I already took out what I wanted. But, there's probably some stuff that Anna wanted you to have."

"Thanks." Seth really couldn't believe he was attending Anna's funeral. This wasn't right. She was supposed to come back, and stay. Stay with Seth. But she left him all alone.

"I'm gonna go. Gotta meet more mourners." Melissa left him, breaking down as she turned away from Seth. He walked and found Kirsten, Sandy, and Ryan sitting in a pew, soon the funeral would start. He sat down next to Ryan.

"You cool man?" Ryan asked, sensing something was wrong with Seth. "Other than the obvious."

"After the funeral, my dad is going to meet with Anna's parents and Marissa's parents to talk about what's gonna happen to Marissa so they don't have to do the court thing. The Sterns are gonna try to get Marissa in juvie or prison. That's what I got from Anna's sister, Liz." Seth knew Ryan wouldn't be very happy about losing Marissa. But then again, they hadn't been on very good terms.

The ceremony started, so their conversation was stopped. Many people cried, but Seth didn't. He felt so much pain, but yet he couldn't get himself to really feel it. He just sat there, waiting for it all to hit him.

"Now, one of Anna's friends would like to say a few words." The priest announced and a girl got up. She walked to the front, she was short, about as short as Summer, with red hair and black streaks. She stood at the podium and stared at the crowd, preparing her speech.

"Hi, I'm Erin Thompson, for any Californians that don't know me. I've known Anna for most of my life and me, her, and another girl, named Milana were the best of friends. Anna was my neighbor and there was this tree, that actually stopped the fencing between our properties. We begged our dads to build a tree house, and when they finally did, they left this hole in the ceiling. We used to lay up there and just stare at the sky. We did a lot of deep thinking up there, we were the thinkers of our class.

"So one day, Milana asks us, 'How do you think you'll die?' and she said, 'I see myself as dying alone.' And her question was really, really deep and very strange. And me, being the opportunist that I am, answered with, 'I'm gonna live until I'm 99.'

"Finally, Anna answered with, 'I'm not gonna die old.' And I just wondered why. Why wouldn't you want to live forever? So she told me, 'I don't wanna die in a corner of a nursing home where I've been forgotten. I wanna die when I'm remembered. And people will say, "Why did she die? Not now. No one should die now." and not, "Oh well, she kicked the bucket. Bought the farm. Finally. I never thought she'd go." And I want it to be sudden, so I don't feel pain.' Her answer scared me that day. Hers was so in detail, and we wondered if she had ever thought hard and long about that.

"That answer still scares me. As does Milana's. Because they were true. I have been to two funerals in such a short time. I am the last of that three to be alive.

"When Anna had first left to Newport, Milana got really depressed and got into drugs. None of out friends had known. But when we found out, we told Anna. She dropped everything and rushed out to Pittsburgh, never really telling anyone why she had actually left. She came back, only to give the ulugy at Milana's funeral.

"Anna was my best friend. She would do anything for you. Even if she hated it. But along with that, she refused to be used or stepped on.

"On that day, in the tree house, she described her death as 'beautifully tragic.' and I think this is what that is. Beautifully tragic. So sad that her leaving us is beautiful. And hopefully, she's up in heaven, looking down at us, smiling." Erin was crying, and she quickly left the podium. The funeral ended soon, they would be laying Anna down in Pittsburgh the nest day. People began to leave, Seth quickly exiting, feeling more worse than he ever had. He opened the doors to find the sun glaring at him, making him shield his eyes. He walked to a nearby tree, and sat down against it. He was sitting there for a few minutes when a shadow came upon him.

"Hey." Seth looked up. Summer stood there, no makeup on, the scar in plain view. She hadn't seen Seth in so long, not since the accident.

"Hi." Seth couldn't believe what the accident had done to her. She didn't look anything like herself. Her eye was black and blue, like Summer had been in a fight. She knew Seth was staring at her scar, she looked away.

"How are you doing?" She asked once she had looked back at him. She couldn't see very many injuries, her side had received the most damage. Anna had been on her side.

"Don't really know." Seth looked down at the ground, not ready to talk to Summer.

"That girl's ulugy was really nice." She attempted. She wanted to be okay with Seth, but after all that happened over the summer, and now with Anna, she doubted if they could ever be close again. He was with Anna when it happened. Summer had lost him. He loved Anna. She loved Seth. Summer loved Seth. She didn't think Seth loved Summer anymore.

"Yeah, it was." The conversation wasn't going very well. Seth wanted to leave, to be alone, but he didn't think he would be able to.

"When did you get out of the hospital?" Summer wanted to be with Seth again, no matter how much he hurt her over the summer. She cared about him. Who would've ever thought Summer Roberts would care about Seth Cohen.

"Day after the accident." Seth never looked up at Summer, she felt unwanted.

"Me too. Did you already know?" Summer felt like hugging Seth, more so, being hugged. She felt horrible for what happened.

"Yeah, I did." All Seth wanted was Anna, to help him through. For once in his life, he didn't want Summer.

"I kinda feel a little responsible. I mean, if I hadn't asked you guys if you needed a ride, maybe she might still be here." Summer thought back to that night. The night that their lives were changed forever.

"It's not your fault. You weren't the one driving." Seth wasn't going to cover for Marissa. He followed what Liz had said to him earlier. She caused this. She killed Anna.

"Are you saying that it's Marissa's fault?" Summer had known Marissa all her life, she never thought Marissa would do this. But Marissa had been drunk and she had a problem with drinking. It was wrong. But Summer still would never betray her best friend.

"She's the one being charged with it. She was the one driving. Drunk." Seth hated Marissa. She was just an annoying, murdering, selfish prep with a drinking problem.

"Cohen..." Summer started, trying to object Seth talking about Marissa.

"Don't call me that name." He told her harshly. Summer felt as though she didn't know Seth anymore. He had changed so much in the past three months, she was talking to a stranger.

"What?" She didn't want to hear it. Calling him that was the only thing they had left the last year now.

"Don't call me 'Cohen' anymore. It bugs me." Seth just wanted to left alone, couldn't she understand that?

"Never did before." Summer couldn't remember the last time she hadn't called him "Cohen." It had just always been a thing she did. He never objected, she swore he actually liked it. Obviously not.

"Well, it does now." Seth paused, thinking about Anna. "'Confidence, Cohen.' She always used to say that to me." Damn, Seth missed her. He couldn't believe she was gone. It wasn't right. He should've gone instead.

"You miss her." Summer realized how much Seth really cared about Anna. He loved her immensely, not Summer. She was just there to fill up time. Anna had probably felt like that before. But she had been the one who should've had Seth. Summer didn't deserve him. He was too good for her.

"Yeah, I do! She was my girlfriend! And now...... she's dead." Seth snapped at Summer. She was taken aback a bit, Seth barely ever rose his voice. He felt bad, Summer didn't deserve his backlash. "Sorry."

"No Seth. You shouldn't be. She was your girlfriend. You guys were great together. You guys were perfect." Summer knew dating Seth hadn't been good, she learned that a long time ago. But now, she knew she should've never been with him. He belonged with Anna, but now, she was gone. Summer and Seth weren't right. It was Seth and Anna.

"We weren't perfect. We broke up before." Seth felt bad for Summer. He knew this conversation wasn't the greatest.

"Yeah, over me. I budded my way in, and broke you up. I was just jealous. I should've never done that. You guys belonged with each other. We should've never been together. It was a huge mess. I'm just pretty selfish. You deserve better." Summer felt the tears forming. She hadn't wanted to cry, but she knew she would. This was too painful, she felt small, and useless. She began to walk away, when Seth got up.

"Summer....wait." Seth didn't want to see her go. She was just being too hard on herself.

"Why?" Summer turned around. "Why should I wait? There's nothing here." She wanted to fall into his arms so badly.

"I'm here." Seth figured they could never go back to the way they had been. But he did love Summer. She had been his first love.

"I know. That's why I can't be." Summer turned and ran, tears falling down her scarred face. She loved Seth so much, and she couldn't be with him. Seth wanted to run after her, but he knew he couldn't stop her. She ran far away, to nowhere. She had nowhere to go, nowhere to be. Her world was falling apart. Her best friend was being charged with murder, another of her friends was dead, and her ex-boyfriend barely talked to her. She didn't want to be in Newport anymore, she wanted to go somewhere else. Meet new people, have a new life. Forget all about Newport, Seth, Marissa, Ryan, Anna. She didn't want to remember them, they hurt her too much. Summer reached her car and turned it on, but not going anywhere. Her tears were falling too hard. Over Seth. Who would've known last year she would care this much about Seth Cohen? Last year about this time, she hated him. No, scratch that. She was falling into his arms. Over Marissa almost being dead. Last year this time, they had been in Tijuana, their lives had almost been ruined then. Marissa almost died. But this summer, Anna had died. She was gone. Summer felt it was her fault, why had she asked them? Oh right, she wanted to talk to Seth. Make Seth and Anna break up. She was jealous. A little, annoying, selfish child. She had wished for them to break up. Well, that happened. Anna was dead, and Seth was broken. He had a broken heart. Because of Summer. She hated herself for wanting this to happen? If she had known, would she have wanted this? She ruined Seth, herself, Marissa, everyone. It was her fault. How could she go on living in Newport? Knowing her best friend was being charged for something that was Summer's fault? She finally stepped on the gas, getting away, as Seth watched his whole life leave him.


End file.
